Slowly Fading
Prologue "Where are you taking my kits?!" A dusky brown she-cat cried. "Don't hurt them! I'm their mother!" Her deep amber eyes were opened in a deep plea as the dark grey and black tom with spiked fur turned around. He put the kits down and bared his eerily white teeth. He unsheathed his large, sharp claws and lunged at the queen, who let out a loud, shrill yowl of terror and pain. "Mouseberry!" A tortoiseshell tom gasped as he saw the injured queen. "Thistlestar! What do you think you're doing?" The tortoiseshell let out a slight sound of relief as he saw the pure white fur of Angelfrost, the medicine cat, to heal Mouseberry. "What do I think ''I'm doing?" Thistlestar snarled. "Dustsparrow, I ''know ''I'm doing what's best!" "By attacking queens? Stealing kits? Have you no shame?" He spat at the leader's paws. Thistlestar's icy blue eyes were filled with shock and disappointment. "Remind me why I chose you for deputy again? You're weak, spineless, have no ambition and care nothing for the taste of blood... Just like your wretched father!" Thistlestar glared into his deputy's challenging stare, both eyes blazing with fury. "Don't you ''dare ''talk about my father like that! How dare you stand where he stood! He stood there – Sunstar stood there with dignity. He stood there with a sense of respect that only a handful can be truly worthy of. He stood there with elegance and knowledge and honor! My father stood there elequently. He stood there and we all listened because we cherished and honored him! You say I'm young and forgetful and stupid, but it's ''you ''who is inferior! Sure I may forget minor things like bits and pieces of my technique but you're worse! You forgot your ''cause ''and what you wanted to become leader for! How dare you look us all in the eye and stand in the place where a man you killed was! You killed him and yet you stand in the place where Sunstar stood! What happened to your honor and wisdom! Or was that all a lie too?" Dustsparrow shot a glare at the leader. If looks could kill, Thistlestar would be dead by now. Thistlestar's look was nearly as harsh. "Maybe you're right..." He muttered. Chapter 1~ The Widow Near the Willow Thistlestar stood under a large willow, its multicolored leaves swaying in the Leaf-fall breeze. Dustsparrow walked over to him, his gaze warmer than their last encounter. "Have you learned from your mistakes?" The tortoiseshell deputy asked. He had taken over leader temporarily while Thistlestar had been left to mellow. He looked at the leader as Thistlestar ripped apart a little mouse. "Somewhat," He snarled with his white teeth clenched. "I didn't really do my job that well did I?" He had finished the mouse and had started tearing apart the grass. "You don't say?" Dustsparrow looked down at the black and grey cat with a look of disdain. "Never would have guessed...." Thistlestar leapt to his feet and looked as if he were about to attack him. All of a sudden, a little black spider with a red hourglass spun down gracefully from the weeping willow. Its black skin stood out between the red and orange leaves. She landed softly on his pelt without Thistlestar noticing. The black widow bit the long-haired leader and injected its deadly venom. He let out a stifled gasp as white-hot pain shot through him. It felt a if his insides were dissolving. "Get. Angelfrost." "Okay... I will." Dustsparrow ran off, his tortoiseshell pelt trailing into the distance. Thistlestar had no idea how long it was before he came back, a white she-cat beside him. "Thistlestar," Her calm, soothing voice filled the space. "What happened?" She had a large piles of herbs in a pile next to her. "Poison... From a spider, I think." Dustsparrow gasped for breath. Angelfrost nodded and started making Thistlestar eat a large amount of herbs. Thistlestar collasped, yet he was still breathing. The weeping willows leaves fell gracefully onto the ground. A large leaf of the purest fell onto the dying leader's body, a contrast of his dark pelt. Angelfrost let out a sigh. "He will survive," Angelfrost looked down at her paws. "Whether or not he'll be the same is still a mystery." Dustsparrow was listening to her words intently, yet did not make eye contact. He was looking at the widow in the willow. Chapter 2~ Dissolved Memory Dustsparrow was pacing back and forth, waiting for Thistlestar to awaken. How often did cats survive this? What did Angelfrost mean when she said he may not be the same. The thought was ripping him apart... How could he not see the black widow? A pair of eyes opened and a low growl came from the den. He whipped around to see Thistlestar, finally awake. His dark grey and black coat messier and more spiked than usual. Dustsparrow approached the worn-out, wary-looking leader slowly and cautiously. "Hello, Thistlestar..." The leader looked around, as if looking for something, though his eyes were dazed off and out of focus. He merely replied. "Who?" Could this be what she meant when the medicine cat said he would never be the same? If so, this wouldn't be a pleasant experience. "You. You're Thistlestar." The leader tilted his head in confusion. "Oh, I am?" His voice was hoarse and frail, exposing his old age and weakened state. Angelfrost looked at the grey and black leader, leaf green met ice blue and the two colors seemed to mix hopefully and danced in revelry. "How is he?" Her tone was worrisome and filled with anxiety. "I...don't know what happened to him, Angelfrost." Dustsparrow tried to rest his tail on her heavenly white shoulder, but she curled back and moved closer to Thistlestar. "I think he has anesia or something like that..." Angelfrost let out an amused purr, although the deputy wasn't sure if it was him or the memory-less leader whom was playing with his tail like a kit. "''Amnesia, ''Dustsparrow." She chuckled. "Not the brightest star in the sky, are you? I mean when it comes to things like medicine tactics and terms, of course." She added, probably noticing the tortoiseshell's hurt expression. "Amnesia? That means his memory is gone..." Dustsparrow pondered out loud. He turned to Angelfrost dramatically. "Will Thistlestar ever get his memory back?" "It is uncertain." The snowy she-cat murmured. "However, for now his memory is completely dissolved. A dissolved memory... How does one suffer it? And try to get it back? The stars have not led me to any certain conclusion, so I cannot say." Chapter 3~A Forbidden Temptation It had been several sunrises and sunsets, and Thistlestar's memory was hardly improving. He remembered bits and details, like certain names. He remembered what Angelfrost told him yesterday. ''"Shh... Thistlestar," A crooning meow said. "Go to sleep." "Hey, Angelfrost." The tortoiseshell tom purred, entering the clearing. Seeing Thistlestar curled up, sleeping soundly, he asked what was really on my mind. "How's Thistlestar doing? Anything coming back to him?" "He's doing okay," Angelfrost said, every couple moments her green eyes flickering to the sleeping leader. "His memory is starting to come back. He remembers certain names and although he doesn't know why yet, he keeps feeling the need to apologize. I'm worried about what will happen when he remembers what he actually did. I mean he's actually really sweet." Her voice sounded dreamy at the end of her thoughts. "I don't know what will happen to him, hopefully it won't affect him too much..." What ''will ''happen when and if his memory returns? He decided to visit Angelfrost later on in the day, after he got back from patrol. In the meantime, he had to focus on catching his prey. A few mice and a rabbit later, he headed back to camp, along with the other hunters and their prey. He heard something odd from the medicine den. The high-pitched, girly purr of Angelfrost mixed with one of her bright laughs. Thistlestar was talking, a lot. It was more than expected from him at his stage. Dustsparrow simply ''had ''to listen to the words they were saying. "Angelfrost," He recognized the deep voice of Thistlestar. "Why do you take care of me when I was so vile and cruel? I wasn't a good character and was not worthy of such good care." Category:Fanfiction Category:Hazeleye's Fanfiction